We are conducting surveys, monitoring, and research on cougars (puma, mountain lion) on the Ladder Ranch in south-central New Mexico. Here, cougars are of particular interest given their effects on state-endangered desert bighorn sheep and other valuable big game. These projects are also resources for training and education, most notably through the Cougar Field Workshop.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

LM3 Update:On January 22nd we received what seems to be the last consistent GPS data download from LM3's collar. The above and following photos of LM3, taken since the 22nd of January, confirm that he is alive, but his collar is not working.

LM3's frequent photos indicate he is still regularly moving through the camera grid, and will hopefully be able to be re-collared. Based on the location of the cameras capturing his photo in the past month we have set up a trap line to capture him along one of his many paths of travel. The photo below is from our first trap night with snares, showing LM3 checking a "scent station" only 30 ft. from a nearby snare! Unfortunately he came and went without traveling past our snare in what seemed to be just a slight detour to check and possibly mark at this "scent station". While getting SO close to catching a target animal in the first trap night was VERY frustrating, based on his photos we expect that he will be passing by this spot again soon, giving us a second chance at re-collaring him!